Boat should take 50% of our shots

[SaeHusky]

shoot the ball boat

 

[WeAreUCONN]

i would agree and actually said that to my brother at the end of the 1st half.
boat should just take every shot. it's their only chance of scoring.

 

[gottaluvem]

You can always tell the posters who NEVER played the sport. They are completely CLUELESS! If you truly understood Shabazz Napier's value last year you would know that he was a bonifide pg who took pride in making players around him better. Between the fans and the media it appears RB was never committed to being a good overall teammate this season. He has been trying so hard to get to the NBA and create a Shabazz/Kemba legacy. Everybody keep taking shots at all of the other players on the team but let's be real. RB is not Shabazz nor is he Kemba and the difference is not even close. If my goal is to play in the nba and I'm 5'9, my putting focus in the areas that are most important to GMs, I'm making my teammates better but most important we are winning! I don't think I want to present a resume with a bunch points only. Everybody can score in the nba. That is not going to help him. Quit encouraging bad behavior that does not mean the team any good.

 

[Doheny]

I'm making my teammates better but most important we are winning!

Bazz has spent a lot of time this year trying to play a team game. I don't know whether it is because of team chemistry, talent of the others, or Bazz as a pg, but the result has been listless play, ineffectual offense, and losing!

 

[UConnSwag11]

You can always tell the posters who NEVER played the sport. They are completely CLUELESS! If you truly understood Shabazz Napier's value last year you would know that he was a bonifide pg who took pride in making players around him better. Between the fans and the media it appears RB was never committed to being a good overall teammate this season. He has been trying so hard to get to the NBA and create a Shabazz/Kemba legacy. Everybody keep taking shots at all of the other players on the team but let's be real. RB is not Shabazz nor is he Kemba and the difference is not even close. If my goal is to play in the nba and I'm 5'9, my putting focus in the areas that are most important to GMs, I'm making my teammates better but most important we are winning! I don't think I want to present a resume with a bunch points only. Everybody can score in the nba. That is not going to help him. Quit encouraging bad behavior that does not mean the team any good.

Kemba had AO, lamb, and Bazz. Bazz had giff, daniels, boat. Boat has….hamilton? If he's feeling it and has open looks, shoot shoot shoot. Idc if he puts up Kobe numbers as long as they're good shots

 

[gtcam]

And he doesn't already??
Thats the team's problem to start - NO ONE should be shooting as much as RB
This team others to have the balls to step up and take shots (legitimate ones) and then work hard enough to be able to shoot at a 40% clip.
Missing bunnies haven't helped either

 

[gottaluvem]

Key word "open looks" in many cases they are not, they are forced shots. T Samuels may not be ready to step totally into the pg role yet but I liked it when Boat was off the ball. He took better shots, the ball moved more, we got production from more players and Boat still scored 20+ points so it still worked out for him without him taking over 20 shots. When we move the ball and get our offense working we have a much better shot of winning games than the idea that one player can win basketball games for us. Contrary to what everyone believe we do have players who can play I just don't think you understand how important your point guard play is at this level. That does not mean a scoring guard playing the point passes the test.

 

[Gurleyman]

You can always tell the posters who NEVER played the sport. They are completely CLUELESS! If you truly understood Shabazz Napier's value last year you would know that he was a bonifide pg who took pride in making players around him better. Between the fans and the media it appears RB was never committed to being a good overall teammate this season. He has been trying so hard to get to the NBA and create a Shabazz/Kemba legacy. Everybody keep taking shots at all of the other players on the team but let's be real. RB is not Shabazz nor is he Kemba and the difference is not even close. If my goal is to play in the nba and I'm 5'9, my putting focus in the areas that are most important to GMs, I'm making my teammates better but most important we are winning! I don't think I want to present a resume with a bunch points only. Everybody can score in the nba. That is not going to help him. Quit encouraging bad behavior that does not mean the team any good.

I honestly don't think you've watched him play this year. Good lord, he's tried to make his teammates better, rarely coming out aggressive on offense to start games, but when he finds open guys for 3s who miss, or feeds guys down low who don't catch or don't finish, the end result is a 10-point deficit and Boat then trying to take over the game. That happened with Bazz a lot last year, too. There are times he has to go gunslinger to try to get us a win when nobody else is stepping up. When other guys do step up in close games (Purvis late against Florida, DHam late against Columbia spring to mind) they've gotten the ball.

We essentially have two raw post players who haven't played a lot of basketball and aren't comfortable with the ball, three shooting guards who aren't likely to knock down open shots, and a talented freshman who's confidence comes and goes. If you understood what made Bazz successful last year, it was that he had experienced guys around him who could knock down shots and keep the floor spread. There's a difference between finding Giffey open in the corner vs Purvis or Cassell (or Hamilton, who is still in the "I'd rather up fake and drive" mode of his career).

Boat not committed to being a good teammate is just not a fair statement. He's played through two bad injuries to take pressure off the other guys even when I'm sure he knew he'd be ineffective in front of scouts and hurt his numbers and efficiency metrics. Very few guys have shown as much commitment to the program through their careers - he could have left after all the NCAA problems as a freshman, or the probation, or the coaching change, or the national title. If he was selfish and all about himself, he wouldn't still be here as a senior trying to provide leadership to a younger group.

 

[gottaluvem]

Stop fooling yourself. He is here because he had no where else to go unless he wanted to go over seas. He was not getting drafted last year. Certainly not passing all the blame on him as the other guys have not played up to their potential but I am saying it's pretty darn hard to find a groove on the court with a pg who dribbles the air out of the ball and take a bunch of shots. Let's just hope the new change will help get us back on track. Moving him off the ball some was great. He was far more efficient and the ball movement looked so much better last night with T Samuels. Did I mention we got the W?

 

[James]

Stop fooling yourself. He is here because he had no where else to go unless he wanted to go over seas. He was not getting drafted last year. Certainly not passing all the blame on him as the other guys have not played up to their potential but I am saying it's pretty darn hard to find a groove on the court with a pg who dribbles the air out of the ball and take a bunch of shots. Let's just hope the new change will help get us back on track. Moving him off the ball some was great. He was far more efficient and the ball movement looked so much better last night with T Samuels. Did I mention we got the W?

The idea that you want samuel running pg full time is hilarious, you actually think he makes his teammates better than boatright?

RB played with Purvis, Hamilton and Facey in the starting line up, all three of those guys are raw and deficient at either passing or ballhandling. Replacing boatright next year will do nothing to the team success, it starts with the development of other guys getting huge minutes.

Oh and boatrights numbers are fine, he would start on any team in the country.

 

[James]

Now to the original OP. no boatright shouldn't take 50% of the shots thats absurd. take good shots or move the ball , don't let it stick. boat does let the ball stick a bit, but he isn't the only one doing this. there are several ball stoppers on this team. Its hard to hate on boat when he leads our team in 3pts @ a 43% clip, as well as assists steals AND FREETHROWS. go hide under a rock Gottaluvem

 

[bellairehusky]

You can always tell the posters who NEVER played the sport. They are completely CLUELESS! If you truly understood Shabazz Napier's value last year you would know that he was a bonifide pg who took pride in making players around him better. Between the fans and the media it appears RB was never committed to being a good overall teammate this season. He has been trying so hard to get to the NBA and create a Shabazz/Kemba legacy. Everybody keep taking shots at all of the other players on the team but let's be real. RB is not Shabazz nor is he Kemba and the difference is not even close. If my goal is to play in the nba and I'm 5'9, my putting focus in the areas that are most important to GMs, I'm making my teammates better but most important we are winning! I don't think I want to present a resume with a bunch points only. Everybody can score in the nba. That is not going to help him. Quit encouraging bad behavior that does not mean the team any good.

Is there a way to "Dislike" posts? If anything, Boat looks like he is trying too hard to involve his teammates. I agree a little with the OP. While it is not a good idea for Boat to shoot 35-40 times a game, I wouldn't mind seeing 20-25. Seriously, would you rather see a post move by AB or a three by DHam (or most others) over any shot by Boat?

 

[Gurleyman]

Stop fooling yourself. He is here because he had no where else to go unless he wanted to go over seas. He was not getting drafted last year. Certainly not passing all the blame on him as the other guys have not played up to their potential but I am saying it's pretty darn hard to find a groove on the court with a pg who dribbles the air out of the ball and take a bunch of shots. Let's just hope the new change will help get us back on track. Moving him off the ball some was great. He was far more efficient and the ball movement looked so much better last night with T Samuels. Did I mention we got the W?

He said when he was on the verge of leaving, that he would have been fine going overseas. After winning a title, there is part of him that naturally would have felt like he would have been nothing left to prove in college. But he wanted to get a degree, and felt like he could benefit from the extra year in college. So he came back, and he's tried to use the Bazz playbook of deferring and getting other people involved before taking over late. Style-wise, he's more like Kemba (quick, athletic, natural scorer) than Bazz (heady, closer to a pure point), so he's reining himself back to get others involved and sacrificing him own scoring.

For example, your "bunch of shots" comment simply doesn't hold water. He took 21 shots in the loss to Texas when he was our best (only) source of offense. Since then, these are his FGA attempts in the last 15 games (leaving out Temple):

9-15-13-12-13-11-8-11-10-12-13-10-17-26-13

The 17 and 26 were recent outliers at Cincy and Houston when we were down double figures and he got hot and tried to shoot like crazy when we were down 10-15 to get us back in it. Other than that, the only game he took more than 13 shots in this entire span was Coppin State, which was an unusually uptempo game. He was 7-13 against Duke in the big "all the scouts are there" game. For comparison's sake, Kemba averaged 18 FGA per game, Bazz 12.5, Boat is now averaging 13 (up from 12.5 pre-Houston). So he's playing more like Bazz - even though he's probably more suited with this team to playing like Kemba.

Bazz and Kemba dribbled the hell out of the ball too, as did Price, El-Amin, MW, etc. Our point guards have always dribbled here. Not sure if you haven't been paying attention.

 

[Giddyup5]

People forget how many shots kemba took.

 

[RipCity]

People forget how many shots kemba took.

In 2011, Kemba accounted for 739 of UConn's 2429 FGA. That's 30.4% of the team's shots. 50% would be ridiculous (and would kill Boatright's FG%).

Basketball is a game of adjustments and capitalization on mistakes. There's no simple answer as to what we should do every game.

 

[gottaluvem]

Now to the original OP. no boatright shouldn't take 50% of the shots thats absurd. take good shots or move the ball , don't let it stick. boat does let the ball stick a bit, but he isn't the only one doing this. there are several ball stoppers on this team. Its hard to hate on boat when he leads our team in 3pts @ a 43% clip, as well as assists steals AND FREETHROWS. go hide under a rock Gottaluvem

I'm not hating James. I have nothing but love for all of the kids. I have my opinion and you have yours! There is no reason to be hiding behind any rocks. LOL

 

[James]

I'm not hating James. I have nothing but love for all of the kids. I have my opinion and you have yours! There is no reason to be hiding behind any rocks. LOL

I'm the first guy in the building that says boatright often sticks the ball too much. it isn't his naturally instinct to swing swing swing attack (last year was different he was a second option so he could pick spots). But we can't sit here and ignore the fact he is posting scintillating numbers from 3pt line, and also still offering a nice floor game. his passing ability and distributing isn't the reason we stink offensively, its that everybody else is a terrible passer. hamilton is a good passer off the bounce, and has potentially to be a really nice facilitate, but his youth is just too much right now ( turnovers). his decisions are careless a lot, still tremendous upside.

everybody else seems foreign to the idea of 'not lettin the ball stick' and attacking in transition. everybody is raw as hell expect boatright on this team

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Wow i didn't notice Boat was 25-44 on threes the last 5 games, 57%, that's insane

 

[David 76]

Boat is not the passer/facilitator that Bazz and Kemba were. But then again, how many PGs are? He is a better defender than Bazz, handles the ball under pressure and w/o a consistent partner to help. He is the heart and soul of this team the best player on this team by a greater margin than Kemba or Bazz were the best player on their teams.
I'm not sure what people want from the guy. 3 once in a lifetime runs in 5 years?

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Boat is not the passer/facilitator that Bazz and Kemba were. But then again, how many PGs are? He is a better defender than Bazz, handles the ball under pressure and w/o a consistent partner to help. He is the heart and soul of this team the best player on this team by a greater margin than Kemba or Bazz were the best player on their teams.
I'm not sure what people want from the guy. 3 once in a lifetime runs in 5 years?

Kemba was literally the best player in the nation. 100% deserved the wooden award over Jimmer

 

[SaeHusky]

FYI I wasn't being serious with my original post - Nobody should ever take 50% of the teams shots unless they are en fuego. It was posted during the game when we were struggling to score

 

[gottaluvem]

I'm the first guy in the building that says boatright often sticks the ball too much. it isn't his naturally instinct to swing swing swing attack (last year was different he was a second option so he could pick spots). But we can't sit here and ignore the fact he is posting scintillating numbers from 3pt line, and also still offering a nice floor game. his passing ability and distributing isn't the reason we stink offensively, its that everybody else is a terrible passer. hamilton is a good passer off the bounce, and has potentially to be a really nice facilitate, but his youth is just too much right now ( turnovers). his decisions are careless a lot, still tremendous upside.

everybody else seems foreign to the idea of 'not lettin the ball stick' and attacking in transition. everybody is raw as hell expect boatright on this team

I agree! It has taken four years to master what he has in his toolkit. Hopefully it's enough to get him where he is trying to go!